JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

If you got the car hot enough so that you were seeing alot of steam and water was coming out of the overflow.. that is not good. I'd try to do that compression check, see what it comes up with, and go from there...

I know this is not something you want to hear, nnd I'll probably get bashed for saying it, but I think you made a big mistake going the route you did.. you had a pocket that was deep enough to make yourself the baddest kid on the block, so you used it and did it..... unfortunately, you are now stuck dealing with alot of stuff that I don't think you were, or are ready for.

I wish you the best of luck, and if I can think of any other way to help, I will, but I'm sure that there's 5000 people on this board that know as much or more then I do.

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

where can I get those pellets or whatever type of product it is to test to see if I blew a head gasket?

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

I understand that with High horsepower there comes more maintainence, obviously.

I did not plan on spending a ton of money though only to have more problems as soon as it came back.

Thats another reason I frequent this forum and have been making tons of threads related to the topic.

I wanted/want to learn as much as I can so I know what to look out for, what to avoid, etc...

Maybe I should just fix it and sell it and forget about it. I had no idea **** would be breaking left and right.

It is just very depressing to have to rely on others, especially when they charge an arm and a leg for labor.

I dont have the tools, knowledge or time to learn this stuff on my own, and would probably end up cracking the block if i tried to fix it myself, lol.

****.

half-n-half

iTrader: (7)

hey things will work out for the best....believe me anytime that there are 60 posts in one day it is easy to hear everything and anything that could be the problem. all that really n eeds to be done is a little checking on things. everyone here has done a good job of listing possibilities, what i think you should do is probobly write down all the possibilities and check them off one by one.

1. fans not going right direction( ibelieve that you said that they are mounted on the bumper side of the radiator not the engine side of the radiator) so put a piece of paper on the bumper side of the fans while they are both on and see what the paper does. if it doesnt blow away violently...you are in good shape.

2. maybe take it to the dealership or someplace like that and ask for them to flush and refill your radiator with new coolant(maybe what futral suggested) a completely aftermarket car still probobly has the general same coolant system that they have worked on numerous times before. talk to the actual tech...and explain to him what the car means to you.

3. have the same dealership maybe run a quick compression check. see what they come up with. maybe they can see if there is any traces of emissions in your coolant as well.

in the end you will not have all this on your mind and honestly in comparison to the cost of vehicle this will be very cheap. prob 300 bux or so??

that is what i would do. but either way best of luck to you, hope this all works out well i love your car!

Louie

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man, I appreciate your encouragement, and thats the kind of thing that would make me wanna keep it and work things through.

I will try everything that has been suggested.

I guess since Allan said he put in a diff t stat, that will rule that option out.

I guess the next thing I can do is have a place do a compression check on it, see results, and then have that test dont to see if they can find head gasket remains in the coolant.

I will triple check which way the fan is blowing though when i get home, if i have time(have a nice v-day planned out).

Thanks again for all your support guys, it does mean a lot to me.

Phate

iTrader: (2)

This is what I would consider a little bump in the road. If this little bump is seriously making you contemplate selling the car, then you should get out now and not look back. But if you are going to sell it, be prepared to take a total bath on the $$$ that you just invested in the car.

You have to realize that 'little' things like this are going to come up all of the time...if you can't do the work by yourself then you need to pay someone to do it. Remember that when you pay for labor you are paying for the experience of the person that is doing it...which is why it costs.

Try to make sure that it is not a cooling system problem. Also, I doubt that those pellets will seal things for long for a head gasket in a boosted application, you are going to be better off pulling off the heads and changing the gaskets (if it is a blown head gasket).

Start looking around for a gool local speed shop to work on the car.

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

ya, the other reason I was contemplating selling the car is partially cause my dad thinks it was a mistake, and wants me to sell it and just invest in real estate or something else.

Which, I can see it being benificial.

Ive gone for 1.5 years without a fast car. It could open an oportunity to make more money and have another car down the road(something with much less maintainence).

I guess I'd only sell it if I could recoop more then 50% of what I have invested.

I guess it also depends on your lifestyle, where you are in life, etc... as to necessities.

Regardless I want to figure out what is wrong with it right now and work through it.

As Richard Dreyfuss said in "what about bob", you gotta take baby steps.

Phate

iTrader: (2)

From an investment perspective real estate is a much smarter bet...cars, other then collectors, are a horrible investment.

For me a big part of the fun is figuring out problems and working through them.

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

Wanna come down and have some fun then?

BLk01SS

iTrader: (7)

What you need, even more than fixing your coolent problem is someone local that knows there stuff about FI to help you with the car. Believe me, if you go to some local shops that the guys have drag cars, with your setup they would probably be intrested enough to try to help you with the car just to see it run. You need a friend that has some good knowledge of FI or make a friend that has that knowledge to help you with the car. You might think you know a good bit, but its when something like this happens that makes you scratch your head. The way I look at stuff breaking is that know you know another way to fix a problem. Good luck, and don't get down about it, thats a nice car!!!!

Phate

iTrader: (2)

LOL, I have enough work to do to get my new combo back together and running I don't have a ton left, but trying to balance the damn car with 70 hour work weeks, gf, family, and sleep is killing me!

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

lol, I'll tell ya what.

If/when I get this problem fixed and I come down to visit my dad(he lives in santa monica), Ill swing by and you can check it out

I know how it can get hectic. gf, family, and 40hours/week work is plenty for me, I cant imagine working 70 hours

Ill tell ya one thing though. I feel bad for those poligimists in Utah, how can they handle more then 1 chick at a time

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

I'm sure you'll get it figured out, and once you do, it should be good for 20K with teh right maintenance ( oil every 1500 miles, that sort of thing )

As for breaking ****.. only thing I see you'll be breaking is the tranny and clutch... once you get this motor situation figured out, I'd seriously start thinking about a th400 or something. And if street is your thing, you can run one, you'll just need a low rear gear to make up for the lack of overdrive. Not only that... but the low rear gear will probably help it get traction too.

Patience... it could be worse, you could need the car for everyday use.

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

ya, Ive been driving the T/A pretty much every day for the past 2 weeks back and forth to work with no problems. Its mostly freeway with not much traffic so that does help.

so after 20k miles, what needs to be done? Do I need to pull the motor and have everything re-worked?

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

I'd guess the valvesprings will definately need replacing, as more of a precaution then anything. Depending on the use, rings. and probably the bearings will need replacment. While it's apart, I'd have the rods measured, make sure they haven't stretched or anything, that type of stuff.


Understand, the forces that go on when you are making 800+ hp are amazing. Look at it like this, winston cup cars, with a 350 or whatever inch n/a motor make about 850 hp, and those guys are putting about 600, 700 at the big tracks worth of mileage on the motor... and they wouldn't even think abotu running it again without a total rebuild.. and there's still plenty of on track failures too. You are making power like they are, granted, you aren't running it wide open for 4 hours strait either, but the startup and whatnot does it's share of wear on parts.


You have a racecar motor now, plan on racecar maintenance. I'm actually surprised to hear you are driving it around as much as you are, if I had that kind of $ into my car I'd be too afraid to even take it out, even with an agreed value insurance policy. Hell, I've got less in my car then you have in your motor/turbo setup probably, and I still only drive it once, maybe twice a weekend.... it never gets driven during the week.

Inspector12

iTrader: (29)

I didn't read this post word for word, but the only factory temp gauges that worked were the 98 gauges so don't put stock in that gauge look at a Tech 2 or Hp tuners etc... to check the temprature. Good luck.

2000 Tran Zam

iTrader: (2)

Ya, id do the valve springs in my heads/cam car anyways, that I did know...

not sure how you can measure how much wear and tear have been put on bearings, rings, etc... without tearing it out of the motor.

2001-WS6

The sealer Tablets I'm reffering too are available from the any GM dealership parts department. You can ask for them and they'll know what you're talking about. It's GM's secret quick fix for all suspected head gasket issues. Bars Leaks has a version in stores so they are probably the manufacturer. They are about the size of a quarter and maybe .5" thick.

They are a compressed vegetable (as in roots and such) material filler. You crush them and drop them in the radiator and run them through the coolant system at temp for 10-15 minutes of driving to heat things up. This stuff expands and fills gaps in radiators and head gaskets and is still friendly to the water pump.

I abused my Cometics once when I shot the belt off at mid pass on the track. She got pretty hot when I stopped to pick up my slip and finally noticed what was going on. I used the tablets and the gasket was good for another month before it gave up on me. When I finally pulled them off you could see the normal burn spots but you could also see the filler in between the layers too. The Cometics don't recover as well as the MLS gasket do from these over heating events.

Rick

CODE4LS1

iTrader: (4)

my money is a stuck thermo also

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....7&postcount=11